A mother's cry

A mother's Cry

The Praise singers dance and sing with frenzy, the girls all giggle and titter.
All gay and merry......

I wear a blank mask on my face
I cannot conjure a smile
Oh! How do I endure this pain
My little girl has been taken away!

To be a wife at age 12
An expectant mother maybe in two months time
To taste that fruit reserved for women
To forget her plays in the sand

I cry for her stolen childhood
I cry for she stands doomed
To do what her body cannot do
To swim against a terrible tide

But I will not cry alone
I raise my voice in loud lament
And soon all women pick up my cry
And drown the thundering drums

Soon our voices become the song
Our tears provide the melody
Till the world dances to our song
Then a mother's cry is done